The present invention relates to a system for opening and closing a debris door on the debris container of a roadway or pavement sweeping vehicle and, more particularly, to a system for opening and closing the debris container by use of a powered actuator, manually by a vehicle operator, and under the influence of gravity when the debris container is in its elevated “dump” position.
Various types of pavement and roadway sweeping vehicles are known. Typically, these machines include some type of debris-collection container that is part of an air-flow recirculation circuit into which debris-laden air is passed and from which the particulate debris is removed. The debris containers typically have an internal volume of 4–10 cubic yards and often include one or more access doors and/or panels by which the interior of the container may be inspected and from which debris may be removed or ‘dumped’.
One type of debris container is designed to be lifted vertically upward from the vehicle and tilted to cause the debris door to open under the influence of gravity to discharge the debris from the container.